Please help, my computer goes rogue on me

First off... Don't drop the laptop... they don't bounce well.

From the symptoms you have described I would guess that something has been partially disconnected at best or broken and failing and must be replaced at worst.
BACKUP UP YOUR DATA NOW -- YOU RUN THE RISK OF DATA LOSS IF YOUR COMPUTER FAILS AND TAKES OUT THE DRIVE.

WARNING -- TECHNICAL EXPERTISE IS REQUIRED FOR SERVICE AND REPAIR OF LAPTOPS!!!!

The fact that the system powers up and runs is a good sign. That being said it is most likely that the keyboard has been damaged in the fall. Perhaps you can get away with removing the keyboard and re-seating all the cable connections.

Unfortunately there is also the possibility that the damage has occurred on the motherboard itself. This will involve replacement of expensive components, if replacement is possible. One other potential problem might arise from the damage having caused an intermittent short in the system, if this is the case continued use will eventually short out the component and cause substantially more damage.


I would suggest that finding a technician or repair service to look at your system might be advisable. You will also want to price out the cost of repairs vs the replacement of the computer system, since laptop components are outrageously expensive and sometimes very difficult to obtain.

Sadly, this may not be what you want to hear, but laptops are pretty fragile items... that they last as long as they do is somewhat surprising to me, and I've been repairing them for just about 10 years.

I would start by going back to a saved snapshot of the system before the incident.ie : restore.................

Can't say for certain, but I'd bet the drop is the culprit. Many connections inside a PC or laptop are fragile. Odds are good you have created a partial break or intermittent fault. Heating and cooling can complicate the problem further (expansion and contraction can make or break iffy connections). With a PC, the recommended fix would be to open it up and reseat all the connectors. Laptops are more challenging. I'd take it to an authorized service depot, myself.

In any event, my experience suggests a hardware fault rather than a software issue, virus or hacking. If you want to be certain, reinstall the OS.. if the problem persists, it's clearly hardware.

I have experienced a similar problem with my desktop PC where every so often when I press a key it either won't work or it will take several hits on the key to make it work. Then I might get a repeated character and several other weird behaviuors on my keyboard. In this instance I traced it down to having a USB memory stick in place. As soon as I remove the memory stick everything went back to working normally. Unfortunately there is no ryhme nor reason as to when this will happen or not.

Just because the behvior seems to be with the keyboadoesn't mean it is the problem. All sorts of erractic behavior can be due yo software + Hijack sources. Since you mentioned AVG I assume you've scanned for virus related ills. Try a HijackThis report & look at whats hooked in to Internet Explorer. I believe it is a microtrend freeware program.

First try booting a bootable linux live disk like Pclinuxos. If this works then you have a hard drive or win os problem. if this fails, second try a memory test using a program like memtest86 which will require burning a cd.

Dropping your laptop onto a hardwood floor means : DEATH!

Good Luck, Do The Math and Happy Halloween!

The impact with the floor has probably broken the keyboard or knocked the cable that connects the keyboard to the motherboard.

I had a Sam Coup

If I were you I would open the back of the machine and check all the connections, especially the ribbon cable that connects the keyboard. It sounds to me as if you have dislodged this connection when you dropped it.
M.A. Laycock

computers are a precise machine mostly plastic.a wire connection could have come loose,everything needs to be perfect or your machine will act up.it does not sound like a virus you would have had this problem before the drop.I suggest you bring it to a reputable tech center.I know this does not fix the problem,but i hope it helps.

Good luck!!!

Hi my Freind, ihad a similar problem with my laptop. It turned out to be a loose conection between the keyboard and the motherboard. To sort this problem out you need to unscrew the speaker grill at the back on the hinges of the screen, then CAREFULLY lift the speaker grill away from the keyboard, you will need to look for 3 or 4 places on the speaker grill to prise it away from the keyboard. then you will see 3 or 3 small cross head screws, these keep the keyboard down.
Undo these screws and keep in a safe place, GENTLY pull the keyboard towards you. you will then be able to see a small flexible flat cable coming from the keyboard to the motherboard, VERY CAREFULLY push the cable into the socket on the motherboard more fully. PLEASE CARE OUT ALL THE ABOVE WITH NO POWER CONNECTED AND ENSURE THE BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED AS WELL. Start up the laptop without screwing anything back to check it boots up ok, if it does shut down the laptop disconnect the power supply and battery and the reassemble the laptop back together again. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN the screws as you could strip the thread on them. reconnect battery try to boot up again, if alls well then it's job done. good luck.

If you are using AVG, then that is probably your problem. The "Free" version of AVG is ineffective against Malware and Viruses. My guess is your computer is probably loaded with stuff you've picked up. If you can afford a Security Suite get one. I would suggest Trend-Micro, or Kaspersky for $$$ paid security suites. For good "Free" protection get Avast "Home User". I've been doing Home Computer repair for 15 years, and I find that people are often infected by a number of ways and for a number of different reasons. And quite often it's because their Security allowed malicious software to be installed.
If your computer has developed, "a mind of it's own", then it is because you either 1. Have far too many programs installed, and need to remove any unused programs. OR 2. Have been taken over by malware of some sort.
My sugestions are;
1. Remove AVG, and install Avast.(Run a boot sector scan.){A boot sector scan will take a while(1-2 hours) since it scans the computer before it boots into Windows.}
2. Install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, do a Thorough System Scan. (This will also take alot of time(1-2 hours), but will be well worth it.) Remove any Malware if found.
3. Remove any unnecessary Programs that are no longer being used, or have never been used.
4. Run MSCONFIG. Remove auto-updating software services from the boot."They will run anyway whenever you use the program(s)."
5. Run your Disk Clean-up utility.
6. DEFRAG your HD.
7. Reboot
8. Be sure to have your "File Sharing" Turned OFF, while connected to Wi-Fi, since it is unlikely you will know anyone at any HOT SPOTS.
9. Have a nice day.

This sounds like it has an over heating problem but it also could have several. Check and make sure all connections are connected . Make hard drive is securely in place and that the battery is also. Now check the cpu and Its heat sink. The heat sink might not be on the chip securely and is letting it overheat. Also make sure all fans are operating properly. Once that is done look at the keyboard on both sides and make sure there is no small cracks. I doubt you have a virus. If all else fails take it to a really good teach shop after it freezes, don't turn it off that way they can see what it is doing.

In the past I have had monitors go as you say rouge and would respond intermittently to the keyboard, the problem is that the monitor was going bad. In your case, it sounds as though the monitor on the laptop was damaged. The problem only gets worse and the rouge turns to fusia.

adarsh,india.
i have dell studio xps 1640 laptop bought 6 months ago.ya as u told its the problem of d avg.see da some systems with higher configuarations are not compatible with old versions. install kaspersky 2010.the system ll never hang.im tellin u cuz wen i installed avg ma system went wrong.same as u told hanging,no responce when i press any keys. but u ve done a mistake by purchasin hp(compaq).cuz they r not dureble. try this.in the future if u wana buy a laptop choose dell.its not the problem of hardware.dont worry
by:adarsh.S
ph:no 9916309331,9481158500
e-mail:adarshs05@gmail.com

YOU dropped it. Befre that it ran fine. Take it to a technician for Pete's sake !

It sounds like you have a communication problem between your keyboard and the system. Have you noticed if it is hot when it "goes rogue?" What maybe happening is the drop's impact damaged either the keyboard's membrane (most likely) or connecting cable and small changes either from use or temperature are causing the problem.

Here is a test. Use a USB keyboard and a cooling pad. Although not definitive, if you do not have problems, then the most likely culprit is the keyboard. Replace it. If you still have trouble, you are going to need some diagnostic help.

Dear jhampa,If you are doing Editing like video,do it like this.Right click at "my computer" then choose properties-advance-performance,settings-advance-virtual memory,change-customize size,initial size,(Suppose maximum size is 4092MB,then,change the initial size is around 4000mb,then click "Set")i hope to you continue your editing....

I had a problem like this with my HP Pavilion laptop, but it was caused by a spill into the keyboard. Certain keys didn't work or gave the wrong letter. It got gradually worse and did also produce the "mind of its own" effect and all sorts of strange things happened with cursor as well.

After a few e-mails with HP support it came down to the keyboard. I swapped it and all problems disappeared. I suspect maybe your keyboard connector could have moved with the drop. My fault was due to liquid spill and I think when the system got the wrong responses from the keyboard, other things happened as well. I used a spare keyboard plugged into the PS2 port until I got my replacement.

I got a replacement on e-bay, came from Hong Kong,about $18, good delivery, product OK. I found out how to change the keyboard from HP support, as HP/Compaq are one, hopefully it should work for you as well.

I personally think that when you dropped your laptop, you damaged it somehow. It doesn't have to have any loose parts rattling around inside to be broken. Electronic parts are very, very brittle sometimes and go bad even just by normal use.

I'm afraid you should take it to a computer repair shop. But first, shop around. Many cities/towns have local repair shops that offer a special "check-out" deal, such as inspect it for $25-50 or so, and then they tell you the condition of the laptop. And if they know what to look for---such as your hesitation in response---then they can specify in that area. Then they'll give you their suggestions as what it may cost to fix it.

Unfortunately, some of those places, if you're computer isn't new within the past year, will merely say it's time to replace it with a brand new one, and they want to sell it to you. But you can always hope that they would have a respect for your finances and do you well.
So check yellow pages, check newspapers, ask other computer friends where they take theirs.

As I said, sometimes local shops will be more helpful because they know they better not mess you over, because they want you for repeat business. When you do need to get a new laptop, then they want you to come back to them.
But that's my best suggestion. It's true that virus can affect control by locking up the keyboard, I've had it myself. But it sounds more like the drop caused some sort of malfunction.

PS---I do NOT like AVG. I have seen so many people have problems with viruses and trojans getting thru their AVG. Now admittedly, they usually have the Free version, so if you're paying for AVG, you might get better security. But when I'm on Yahoo Answers, so many people have viruses get thru their AVG protection.
I suggest you get SUPERAntispyware. It cleans extremely well and is free, altho' paying for it will get you some better options, but it's same protection.

Presuming nothing has been jarred loose or broken from the fall I would suggest the following: Save all your important information, do a complete reinstall of the operating system, the programs that you use and the saved data. If the problem still persists it will require a trip to a computer repair shop to check for anything broken internally.

One of my machines is a Dell that is several years old that started experiencing the same problem. I'm running WINXP SP-3 and 1.5 BG memory. The same thing started happening to me about one month ago and I can't put my finger on it. I had AVG, Ad-Aware & Spybot as well as Spyware Detector. No viruses or other infections are identified. Every couple of weeks, the Microsoft Malware program runs as well.

I'm running current software on all systems, I do not have Office 07, but Works 02. My ISP provider is Verizon FiOS.

Ths performance delay started to occur and I've deinstalled AVG, disabled most MSIE Ad-Ons, ran system scans and optimization checks on the machine. All to no avail.

Visiting a site, such as Huffingtonpost has become extremely painful. The pages that used to load in under 7 seconds are now taking 1-3 minutes to do. I've run several SysInternal process tools to see if I cannot iIdentify the problem - but all tests seem to point to the ieexplore.exe module. Several AVG processes also ran high during this time, so I uninstalled the product to see if that fixed the problem - it did not.

I've researched issues related to ieexplore.exe but nothing seems to do the trick.

I'm reaching out for help on this one too.

My guess is that the impact loosened an internal connector or caused damage to the motherboard. In either case shaking your laptop won't help. A service tech is needed.

You might have to take the hard drive out and put it in a new laptop. If it still goes rogue, beat the crap out of it.